What are the applications for HSD?

HSD practioners come from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. Therefore, when they apply the HSD tools, the benefit are broad and far reaching.

HSD tools have been used to solve complex problems with surprisingly simple methods in a wide variety of industries and organisations. HSD is commonly applied to individuals, business organizations, community change projects and educational institutions.

In my own work, I use HSD to help individuals and organisations understand what change is really like.  HSD helps me to help people to understand that change is not one long continuous line that starts at point A and ends at point B.  This is an important start to the change process because when the unpredictable occurs, it is not unexpected.  Therefore there is no blame that individuals are resistant or trying to sabotage the process.

With my clients, either as individuals or as teams, I work from the assumption change happens in small iterative steps that shift the current pattern. Each time there is a shift, the new pattern needs examination and adaptive action needs to be taken. In the end, the change that is required to keep the system moving toward its goal may be point C or D or even point Q. The real challenge is getting the leaders in the organisation to accept unpredictability and embrace the uncertainty of change.

HSD offers a plethora of easily applied tools to use in the change process so that the system reaches the right goal - anticipated or not!